Coronet Blue

This was, to me, my first exposure to the possibility of "good television." This show was SOOOO special because it was a 30-year precursor of the ALIAS/LOST/PRISON BREAK intricate continuing series.

In today's entertainment marketing environment, this show would have been through the roof in ratings and been short-listed right into production.

Back then, I think the network was stunned by the audience reaction. By the time they realized what it hit it had on its hands, it was too late to do anything about it. What a shame.

Bravo!!

Artie

There had never been a show quite like "Coronet Blue"; the 'hero' (Frank Converse) emerges, half-dead, from a watery 'grave', with no recollection of his past, and only the phrase 'Coronet Blue' to guide him. Soon it becomes obvious that some very mysterious and powerful people would prefer him dead, and his life, much as Jason Bourne, in THE BOURNE IDENTITY, becomes a race to pick up clues about himself, while trying to stay alive. Each week would introduce a new piece to the jigsaw puzzle, offering a glimpse of a possible past, while asking even more questions...Who does "Michael Alden" (a name created when he could not remember his own) work for? Is he a hero or a criminal? And why is it so important to silence him?

CBS thought the premise was worth taking a chance on, and had green-lighted 13 episodes, but then decided it was too 'intellectual' (this WAS the network of "The Beverly Hillbillies" and "Gilligan's Island"), and condemned the series to a summer run, when TV viewing plummeted, and the regular series were 'between seasons'. Many 'failed' programs debuted during the summer, giving the networks a chance to recoup production costs by advertising revenue, and to brag that they were offering more than just endless reruns to TV viewers.

Then something remarkable happened; TV critics, previewing the first episode, were universally in praise of the quirky drama, making the show's debut an 'event'. And viewers, tuning in, were introduced to the Robert Redford-like charisma of blond, 29-year old Converse, making him an instant sex symbol. CBS was astonished and pleased by the response, but unprepared for the word-of-mouth that soon made the series a 'Must See' for fans. Hastily, the network attempted to revive the program for the fall season, but Plautus Productions, who created the series, had folded after CBS axed the show, and Converse had signed as a regular on "N.Y.P.D." (the ground-breaking cop show that would pave the way for "N.Y.P.D. Blue", and "Law and Order"). The 13 episodes would become the legacy of a show that would have been a long-running hit, had CBS been willing to gamble on viewers' intelligence!

I see this on SuperChannel, which is a Japanese cable channel that's basically a graveyard for short-lived American TV shows. (Shaft, Serpico, Funny Face,...etc.) I got into it quickly.

This is obviously the inspiration for Matt Damon's 'Bourne' films.

The amnesia angle was played very well. Watching Frank Converse do what he felt he needed to do without knowing WHY was eerie.

You really felt for the guy. I'm surprised this show wasn't a hit and Converse wasn't a bigger star.

It was apparent that the cold war was the 'hidden' secret. But since the show never made it...we never really found out until Larry Cohen told us himself.

I have read various accounts of the premise of Coronet Blue and how the pilot episode opens. There are two details I vividly remember differently and was wondering if anyone else noted them as I did. Most interesting is the origin of the series title. Some websites state Frank Converse's character climbs out of the water himself and mumbles only two words: "Coronet Blue" - hence, the title. I watched the pilot episode the night it first aired on television. Specifically, he was pulled from the water by other people, and unconscious at that. The people go through his pockets looking for identification, but the only thing he has on him is a matchbook with a design of a blue coronet (crown) on the outside of it. Doesn't anyone else remember that detail?

Only about a dozen episodes of Coronet Blue were made and it wasn't chosen for broadcast during the regular season. Someone had the idea to show it during the summer - and it was a ratings sensation. Everyone wondered what the mysterious words "coronet blue" really meant, and hope that the show would go into production again so we'd find out. But no more episodes were ever made, and no writer stepped forward to give viewers the answer to the mystery!